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Yogurt Taste Test

by Kendra Vizcaino-Lico

on 05/11/13 at 12:00 PM

Last week we celebrated Take Your Kids to Work Day with the kids of Condé Nast. We hosted a Vanilla Yogurt Taste Test to let the little ones try their taste buds at rating and ranking their favorites. As it turned out, our 8 and 9 year old junior judges had some very passionate opinions.

They sampled three different yogurts: Chobani Vanilla Non-Fat Yogurt, Dannon Low-Fat Vanilla Yogurt, and Stonyfield Organic Low-Fat French Vanilla Yogurt. In a blind taste test, we had them judge the yogurts based on appearance, taste, and consistency and rank them using the Epicurious four-fork rating system (four being best).

Best Overall: Dannon, 3 1/2 forks

Pros: One junior judge commented "It's awesome. It tastes sweet. It's not bland. It's not fakey. It's natural." Another enjoyed its texture, "It's really creamy and yummy." Many junior judges noted that there was a distinct honey flavor to the yogurt which they liked while one taster thought it was kind of "bananaish." One judge noted, "I think this would be a great hit for yogurt."

Cons: Some felt it wasn't rich enough. One taster commented "I think they should make it more thick."

First Runner-Up: Stonyfield, 1 1/2 forks

Pros: The junior judges enjoyed the off-white, cream color of the yogurt and its rich texture. One junior judge commented "Rarely white." Some judges like its "creamy and thick" consistency and others liked its "kind of nutty and sweet" flavor.

Cons: Many noted that it had an artificial flavor, one said "Tastes sweet, but bad aftertaste." Another said, "Tastes like wax."

Second Runner-Up: Chobani, 1/2 fork

Pros: A few junior judges enjoyed the slightly sour, lemony flavor and the thick texture. One junior judge said, "It's very chunky and tastes like sweet, and kind of lemons."

Cons: The kids were not too kind in their assessment of this yogurt. Comments ranged from, "I literally want to throw it in the garbage" to "It tastes horribly bad" to "It dries out my mouth and throat" to "Chunky and pukey, gross gross." But, one junior judge did clarify why they didn't enjoy it, "I don't like Greek yogurt. I'm not Greek."

After the tasting, the kids tried their hands at food styling by creating beautiful miniature pies and parfaits using fresh fruit, chocolate chips, and their favorite yogurt from the taste test. They then went on to learn about gardening and planted their very own rosemary and basil plants to take home.

We're already looking forward to Take Your Kids to Work Day next year to have more food-filled fun, culinary crafting, and creative comments from the kids!